Automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) are usually portable defibrillators that are designed to be operated by users with minimal training. AEDs are attached to a patient via electrode pads that allow an AED to send electrical shock energy to a patient for treating sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Because AEDs can be used by non-medical personnel, they are being deployed in a myriad of locations outside of traditional medical settings. As a result, more and more non-medical establishments are purchasing portable AEDs for deployment in non-medical environments. To facilitate this deployment in various non-medical environments, portable AEDs are typically only powered by stand alone battery systems.
AEDs are usually standby devices that are used infrequently and that remain in storage for long periods of time. This standby storage time can be on the order of months or even years. Minimizing power consumed by the AED while it is in standby mode during storage may extend the battery life of the system and reserve battery power for rescue attempts using the AED.
Since AEDs are in standby mode for long periods of time, knowing the operational status of a standby AED is very important. The operational status of an AED can be determined by various internal self tests. These tests may cover general operations, battery life, memories, software, etc. The results of these tests can be communicated to a user via simple interfaces, such as light emitting diodes (LEDs), or via richer interfaces, such as video displays.
The operation of rich user interfaces, such as video displays, generally requires additional processing power from the main processor of the AED. However, fully powering up the entire AED device may unnecessarily consume significant electrical power relative to the shelf life of a portable AED. In addition to the problem of fully powering up the entire AED device, another problem exists with conventional AEDs that display status information only during the full power up of the AED.
Many conventional AEDs only provide status information prior to a rescue operation when the AED conducts self tests of its hardware, firmware, or software or any combination thereof. Conventional AEDs can also require a user to navigate through multiple menus in order to obtain status information about the AED.
For example, to obtain status information of conventional AEDs, a user usually must wait while the AED conducts internal self-tests prior to the AED being placed in a fully operational state. Once these internal self-tests are completed, the user usually must navigate through several menus on the AED in order to view status information. And if the user only desired status information of the AED without the need of powering up the AED into its fully operational state, then the user would also need to activate a switch on the AED in order to place the AED back into a non-operative state. Waiting to place an AED back into its non-operative state or standby mode can be a significant problem in situations in which numerous AEDs are checked in a series or close in time.
For example, a security guard making rounds in a multistory building to check status of AEDs on each floor could encounter significant delays or waiting periods with conventional AEDs. That is, with conventional AEDs that require full power operation to perform self-tests, navigation through numerous menus to obtain status information, and that require the user to turn-off the AEDs once they reach their fully operative state could require a significant amount of time of a security guard who is patrolling the multi-story building.
Hence, there is a need in the art to provide rich status information, such as using a video display for presenting information about a portable AED and without consuming significant electrical power of the portable AED. There is also a need in the art for an AED that can provide rapid status information without requiring a user to navigate through complex or numerous menus. And a further need exists in the art for an AED that can provide status information without entering into a fully operational state and while the AED remains in a standby mode.